The increasing public uses of mobile and portable cellular telephones, telephone facsimile machines, and television systems create a need for inexpensive, reliable, and multi-positional external antennas. Operators of such diverse equipment have various work and security requirements involving antenna mountings. A major requirement is that an operator at anytime should be able to quickly and easily remove, replace, or secure an antenna in selectable positions using hands only. Another important requirement is that a secured antenna should not become unsecured due to normal operating conditions or environmental forces.
Previous types of mobile and portable mountings required the use of hand tools to perform the steps of removing, replacing, or securing the antennas. The tools used were screwdrivers, wrenches, or pliers. Under actual working conditions one or more steps requiring tools could not be performed quickly, if at all, by men or women. For example, a radio antenna with its upper segment projecting above a vehicle's highest metal roof plane generally results in superior receiving and transmitting performance.
Therefore, a popular type of antenna mounting was attached by adhesive on the uppermost and center position of a vehicle's front or rear window. That location made it difficult, or impossible, for a man or woman of average height to stand on the ground and use hand tools on the antenna. Additionally, the operator may be in a position or location where he has no access to any hand tools.
Antennas can become unsecured due to external environmental forces against the antennas, and internal movements in the mountings when subjected to shock and vibrations. These factors cause flexing and twisting of the antenna element which transmits torque to its base connection on the mounting. Previous devices typically use an antenna element with a threaded base stem and lock washer or nut, which is screwed into a socket assembly pivoted on a bolt or set of screws in the mounting. These parts require tightening with tools since hand tightening is inadequate.